Automotive wheels may be one of various types depending on structural characteristics and methods of manufacture. The various types of automotive wheels include but are not limited to the singe-piece, two-piece modular and three-piece modular designs. In typical fabrication of each of the various types of automotive wheels, the wheel includes a wheel disk that has a wheel face that faces the outboard side of the wheel and a hub plate that faces the inboard side of the wheel and is used for installing the wheel assembly on the vehicle. Additionally it includes an outer barrel that faces the outboard side of the wheel, or face side, and also inner barrel which faces the inboard side, or brake side, of the wheel. The wheel disk is located between or within the inner and outer barrels, thus the axial location of the wheel disk in most cases defines the point were the inner and outer barrels meet. Therefore, the outer barrel and wheel face, as the typically more visible portions of the wheel, are conventionally subjected to more intense polishing, smoothing and finishing efforts than the inner barrel. The transition or assembly point between the outer and inner barrels is typically visible as a continuous seam or protrusion, which detracts somewhat from the overall aesthetic appearance of the wheel.
Single-piece automotive wheels are typically cast in a mold, flow-formed or machined from out of forged metal. Frequently, single-piece automotive wheels are fabricated to include a fake hardware ring (hereinafter referred to as HWR), also known as an annular ring. A fake HWR can be used to impart a faux modular appearance to the wheel, to help conceal the lack of finishing detail given to the inner or brake side of the wheel, or to utilize the casting seam, if any, as part of the wheel design.
After casting of a single-piece wheel, a casting seam exists where the casting mold halves came together, usually were the inner and outer barrel portions of the wheel meet. Depending on the wheel design, the casting seam may be shaped to resemble an HWR or, alternatively, may be left in a flat contour by making the mold halves fit together in a flush configuration. If the casting seam is left in a flush configuration, a distinct line will be apparent on the wheel surface between the inner and outer barrels.
Single-piece wheels are finished as a complete assembly insofar as the entire wheel is painted the same color or chromed in its entirety after manufacture. The texture and quality of the casting mold surfaces, as well as the preparation procedures which are carried out prior to finishing, determine the texture and quality of the final wheel finish. The inner barrel portion of the wheel, concealed by the face of the wheel and the HWR or casting seam, is not prepared to the level of aesthetic detail or quality, which characterizes the outer barrel and wheel face after finishing. This effectively renders the inner barrel less aesthetically pleasing than the outer barrel, since the inner barrel is left with a rough and dull appearance.
On the wheel disk of a two-piece modular automotive wheel, the HWR extends around the perimeter of the wheel disk and is necessary for assembly of the wheel parts since the HWR includes bolt openings, which match those provided on a barrel hardware flange on the barrel. Therefore, the HWR creates an obvious boundary between the inner and outer portions of the barrel of the wheel. The outer portion of the barrel, located on the outboard side of the HWR, is fully visible; therefore, it is desirable for the outer barrel portion to be as aesthetically pleasing as possible. The inner barrel includes the tire mounting depression, necessary to provide clearance to mount the tire on to the wheel assembly, and is located on the inboard side of the HWR. The inner barrel is obscured by the wheel face and the HWR and requires the inclusion of the tire mounting depression; therefore, the aesthetic appearance of the inner barrel is typically not considered a high priority to wheel manufacturers.
U.S. Patent Application Publication Number US2004/0021365A1 discloses a two-piece vehicle wheel having a barrel section with separate wheel disk secured therein by separate fasteners, which are hidden from view when the wheel is in use. However, the disclosed assembly does not utilize the barrel curvature proposed by the present invention, and therefore requires the inclusion of the tire mounting depression, aesthetically hampering the inner barrel.
On the wheel disk of a three-piece modular automotive wheel, as in the case of a two-piece modular wheel, the HWR extends around the perimeter of the wheel disk and is necessary for assembly of the wheel parts since the HWR includes bolt openings which match those provided on a barrel hardware flange on the barrels. Therefore, the HWR creates an obvious boundary between the inner and outer barrels of the wheel. The outer barrel of the three-piece modular wheel includes an outer flange, a tire bead seat and a hardware flange having bolt openings that match respective bolt openings on the inner barrel and the HWR for assembly. The outer barrel is fully visible; therefore, it is highly desirable that the outer barrel be as aesthetically pleasing as possible.
The inner barrel of a three-piece modular wheel includes an inner flange, a tire bead seat and a hardware flange having bolt openings, which match the respective bolt openings on the outer barrel and the HWR for assembly. The inner barrel also includes a tire mounting depression immediately to the inside of the tire bead seat, to facilitate mounting of a tire on the wheel. Because the wheel face and the HWR largely obscure it and requires the inclusion of the tire mounting depression, the inner barrel is not considered an aesthetic portion of the wheel, and therefore, remains unfinished.
In some wheel face designs and on some larger-diameter wheels, however, the inner barrel is largely visible, and therefore, requires some finishing treatment. In some cases, this is accomplished by chroming the inner barrel, although to a lesser degree of detail or quality than the outer barrel. Even then, the wheel's face, HWR, and tire mounting depression are still present, separating the outer and inner barrels and making it less necessary to subject the inner barrel to the full finishing process. Therefore, an automotive wheel is needed which is fabricated by a modification of the wheel design, construction, assembly and/or finishing process to impart a uniform aesthetic appearance and a coherent transition throughout both the inner and outer barrels of the wheel, or “endless lip effect.” As used herein, the term “lip” is intended to describe the portion of the outer barrel measured from the outboard flange to the location of the wheel disk HWR or annular ring. The absence of HWR or annular ring on the wheel along with the uniform aesthetic appearance between the inner and outer barrel halves of the wheel provide the aforementioned “endless lip effect.”